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Federal prosecutors and wealthy developer Robert K. Mericle agreed Monday to a revised plea agreement that appears to soften the government's position on how much punishment Mr. Mericle should face for his role in the kids-for-cash scandal.

The agreement is the second time Mr. Mericle's plea deal has been revised since he was charged in August 2009 with failing to report a crime associated with the judicial scandal centering around two juvenile detention centers his firm built.

This revision strikes the first amended agreement signed in January 2011, which would have subjected Mr. Mericle to 12 to 18 months in federal prison. At that time, the two sides agreed prosecutors reserved the right to recommend the maximum penalty allowed.

Under the new agreement, it appears Mr. Mericle's sentence would drop to six to 12 months, and prosecutors say they will recommend the minimum sentence. Prosecutors also agreed to take "no position" if Mr. Mericle asks for his sentence to be probation, home confinement or an alternative to prison.

Mr. Mericle, through his attorneys, will argue for a further reduction based on his "good works within the community," the agreement says. Prosecutors say they may argue against that reduction.

Mr. Mericle paid $2.1 million to former Luzerne County Judges Mark A. Ciavarella and Michael T. Conahan, who were accused of conspiring to shutter a county run juvenile detention center and send scores of juveniles to detention centers built by Mr. Mericle's firm. Mr. Mericle pleaded guilty in September 2009 to failure to report a federal felony associated with the scandal.

Mr. Mericle's sentencing has been on hold for years because he was expected to be a key prosecution witness in an unrelated corruption case against ex-state Sen. Raphael Musto, who avoided trial in January after he was deemed mentally incompetent. Federal prosecutors accused him of receiving cash, free construction services and gifts from Mr. Mericle as rewards for his support of state grants for a multimillion-dollar development.

A status conference on Mr. Mericle's case is set for Wednesday in federal court in Scranton.

MICHAEL R. SISAK, staff writer, contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com

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